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Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan 2005+

1446 messages,  Last post on May 15, 2013 at 8:51 AM

You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Van

Messages Page 44 of 146

#424 of 1446 Re: More Deleted features [jona57] by hansienna

Jan 07, 2005 (8:31 pm)

Replying to: jona57 (Jan 06, 2005 11:44 am)
Agree. My 2002 T&C LX door locks do not recess like the door locks formerly did in the 1999 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE; there is no carpet on the front doors between the armrest and the window; no carpet at the bottom of the front doors; the ignition switch no longer has the luminous ring around it in 2002 vs 1999.
    These deletions are not smart if DC wants to keep their current customers loyal and repeat buyers.
    I compare my 2002 T&C LX to the 1999 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE as the T&C LX pre-2001 was a much nicer minivan than the Plymouth Grand Voyager SE or Dodge Grand Caravan SE.
    The current Grand Caravan SE is just the former "base" Grand Caravan while the Grand Caravan SXT is the former Grand Caravan ES.
    The former GC Sport and GC LE have been killed off. Not a very intelligent marketing move by DC.

#425 of 1446 Side AirBag option hard to find? by janb2

Jan 08, 2005 (12:14 am)

We walked out of negotiations today on an SXT that had almost everything..No leather, no navigation system, however it did have the sideair bags which is what I want but that van is located at a different dealer. It also had the DVD and CD 6 disc. The MSRP is $30880. They offered us $28880. We said no and left. The salesman actually came out into the parking lot and opened my door and said "wait 2 minutes, we're making a phone call"...They came back with $25995 + $250 = $26245. We said no. I was insulted that they wanted to charge $250 to "go get the van." Do you agree this $26245 is too high? I was thinking around $23K is what I would pay. The current rebate they told us about is $2000 (which brought it to the $28880) and its a 0% 60 month finance.
 
Even though the lot had many 'loaded' SXTs, not one of them had the side air bags. They could only find one SXT in the area that had that option. I would think it would be a popular option! Is there something about them I should know? My husband was eyeing the loaded SXT with leather & nav system but I said no, I want one with the side airbags, who wouldn't? He thinks I'm being difficult now

#426 of 1446 Re: More Deleted features [jona57] by samnoe

Jan 08, 2005 (6:33 pm)

Replying to: jona57 (Jan 06, 2005 11:44 am)
Which year DC minivan did you have before?
 
I too have the '05 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, and noticed many deleted stuff. I'm repeating my words many times here. and I hope Chrysler will finally get the message for the 2007 redesign.
 
Before we go to features, I would like to ask you if the ride is as good as your previous DC van? Because I feel that the '05 models is down in handling, noise (muffler?), and smoothness over bumps & potholes. Also It bothers me that I don't have the tire pressure monitor in a $29K+ van. I have all options except for the leather seats and GPS navigation system and side air bags.
 
BTW, if you take side airbags, you will loose the overhead assist handle for the rear passengers. Chrysler says they interfere with the airbag system. Somehow, Honda engineers do not have such problems and manage to get both.
 
OK, let me mention some deleted stuff, as far I remember (Chrysler, now listen good!):
 
- Windshield wiper de-icer (biggest problem for me).
- No fabric inserts on the doors (what Hans refers to "carpet").
- No carpet mates for the 3rd row seats.
- No illuminated controls for power door locks, windows & mirrors.
- No illuminated ignition key ring.
- No (security) lamps on the front doors.
- No info center on top of gauges (I like the change, though).
- No light in the glove box.
- Only one liftgate light (instead of 2).
- Only one light at the sun visor mirror (instead of 2).
- No more variable illumination for the above light.
- No visor extender (but you can move the entire visor - nice!).
 
The biggest dissapointment for me is the lack of the windshield heat stripes which I loved in the previous models. I have not owned one, but have driven many. Especially that 2 minivans already copied that feature, the Kia Sedona and Toyota Sienna.
 
The information center used to be on an oval bar above the meters, which showed the signal indicators, high beams and some more stuff. IMO this center was usually blocked by the steering wheel, so I'm happy that they "deleted" that feature, and replaced everything into the regular gauges, like most other cars.
 
I don't know exactly what "instant MPG" function does, but I think if you use the "average MPG" function and you press "RESET" you can have the same result as instant mileage. Again, I'm not sure. Try it and let me know.
 
I personal HATE automatic temperature control. I can't see any reason people should use it. And for several reasons:
 
1) When I set it for a certain temperature, he does what "HE" wants, not me. He goes from the defroster mode to other modes, blows air like crazy (highest fan settings) and some other odd things. I like to set it the way I want.
 
2) When the system (read: your van) is off, you can't change any setting, or know what your settings are. In regular climate control you see if the control is at the blue or at the red, you see where the dial is pointing to on the fan blower control, and see which mode is used (upper, lower, defrost, etc.) None of them is available to see with ATC.
 
3) Sometimes I want a quick change. Example, I need heat, but the windshield gets foggy, so I turn it to defroster, and put cold air instead of the hot air. In regular temp. control (like my '03 T&C I drive at work) I just move the slider from the red to the blue and you're done. Not so with the ATC, which i have to push and hold the down arrow button to move the temperature from 85 to 50. this takes quite a few seconds and is not safe.
 
Anyway, I can write more, but it's enough for now. I like some other climate systems which works similar to regular manual controlled systems, and just add an "AUTO" button in case you want to "set it and forget it". Not to make an over-complicated system.
 
I would also ask Chrysler to make the interior door handles a little bigger.
 
I recommend everybody to do what I did: e-mail Chrysler (link below) and if everybody tell them, they will hopefully get the message:
 
http://www.chrysler.com/wccsapp/universal/C/index.jsp?appStr=wccs- - &titleStr=Contact+Chrysler&familyStr=brand&franchise=- - C&actionURL=%2Fwccs%2Fbrand_forms%2Fus%2Fwebform.jsp&prom- - otion=null&category=U

#427 of 1446 Re: More Deleted features [samnoe] by hansienna

Jan 08, 2005 (10:34 pm)

Replying to: samnoe (Jan 08, 2005 6:33 pm)
Excellent listing. Many of your items are contained on my "bottom of the line" 2002 T&C LX.
    Thanks for the correction: it was cloth on the front doors above the arm rests and if I recall correctly, the Caravan SE also had the cloth on the front doors above the arm rests as far back as 1986.

#429 of 1446 a reminder by steve_ HOST

Jan 09, 2005 (6:54 pm)

Per the Rules of the Road link above, "when posting about your experience with a dealership, you may post only the dealership name, city, and state. You may not post a salesperson's name, phone numbers, email addresses, links to dealer web sites, etc."
 
If you have a buying experience to talk about, please post in the Chrysler Voyager/Dodge Caravan: Prices Paid & Buying Experience discussion.
 
thanks,
 
Steve, Host

#430 of 1446 Other Caravan Chat sites? by dennisctc

Jan 11, 2005 (12:36 pm)

Are there any other website/chat areas for Dodge Caravans?
 
I just purchased an 05 GC SXT with sunroof, power hatch and tow package - LOVE IT!

#433 of 1446 Re: Other Caravan Chat sites? [dennisctc] by 1997montez34

Jan 11, 2005 (4:15 pm)

Replying to: dennisctc (Jan 11, 2005 12:36 pm)
Congrats dennisctc! We have had our '05 DGC SXT for about 6 weeks adn love it so far. The power tailgate was a real selling point. Good luck and keep us updated.

Messages Page 44 of 146

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